What's the difference between a Ref. GPU and Non-Ref. ?

Mbiggs23 · Jun 5, 2014

Hello there!
I'm not really sure what the difference is between a Reference GPU and a Non-Reference GPU. If anyone could tell me the difference that would be awesome!

and a little side question, I'm looking into a GTX 780 Ti, should I go Reference or Non-Reference. Thanks in advance guys!

Dblkk · Jun 5, 2014

reference design is the way NVidia/amd made the original graphics card. Layout of chips, ram, vrms, capacitors, ect. Typically with reference designs cooling is subpar.

Non-reference, is a design that's not 100% identical to the nvida/amd manufactur layout.

Now, manufactures, like msi evga asus gigabyte ect, can choose to use the same exact design as the original, and most often do. But they also come out and put on their own cooling designs (which most often are way better quieter and better performing than amd/nvidias design). Those are non reference because theyre unlike the original design. Typically doesn't matter unless your buying like a full vga waterblock, as if you buy a reference block and try and put it on a non reference design, the block wont have the cooling in the proper places, since the design of where things are on chips are different.

FunkyFeatures · Jun 5, 2014

Reference design is the layout and the cooler from the manufactorer. nVidia's 780 ti reference design is the nice gray metal cooler, instead of the lower end plastic ones. For the 780 ti, its a blower style card, it pushes the hot air out the back of your case, instead of filling your case with warm air.

Non reference design is the design and layout coming from other brands like - Asus, Msi, gigabyte, gainward and i could go on and on.
Often non reference designs are better at handling the heat(seen at the r9 290x with poor reference cooler), and they might be factory overclocked or be better at overclocking. The drawback is, that many of these cards pushes the heat into the case, and you might actually get worse temps if your case has bad airflow.

If you should go reference/non reference.
Depends - do you have good case airflow, do you want more features like gpu tweak or a backplate? And do you need to cheapest possible 780ti?
I personally dont like the reference model(because of the looks, but many people actually like it), so i would go for a non reference. I might be an asus fanboy, but i just love asus. The backplate, the non reference vrm, possibly quieter i havent tested it.

My opinion in what you should get - Non reference from MSI/Asus

Mbiggs23 · Jun 5, 2014

FunkyFeatures :

Reference design is the layout and the cooler from the manufactorer. nVidia's 780 ti reference design is the nice gray metal cooler, instead of the lower end plastic ones. For the 780 ti, its a blower style card, it pushes the hot air out the back of your case, instead of filling your case with warm air.

Non reference design is the design and layout coming from other brands like - Asus, Msi, gigabyte, gainward and i could go on and on.
Often non reference designs are better at handling the heat(seen at the r9 290x with poor reference cooler), and they might be factory overclocked or be better at overclocking. The drawback is, that many of these cards pushes the heat into the case, and you might actually get worse temps if your case has bad airflow.

If you should go reference/non reference.
Depends - do you have good case airflow, do you want more features like gpu tweak or a backplate? And do you need to cheapest possible 780ti?
I personally dont like the reference model(because of the looks, but many people actually like it), so i would go for a non reference. I might be an asus fanboy, but i just love asus. The backplate, the non reference vrm, possibly quieter i havent tested it.

My opinion in what you should get - Non reference from MSI/Asus

I'm actually not really sure if my case has good airlow, here are some pics.

and Yes I would like to overclock it, and No money isn't a factor in my decision.

FunkyFeatures · Jun 5, 2014

From the pictures you sent, it looks a little dusty so you might wanna clean it for dust sometime soon

, also can you tell me if you have a front or bottom intake? If you have 0 or only 1 120/140, you might wanna go for the reference 780ti.

For overclocking - It is not always that a non reference is better for overclocking. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isnt. It is simply the silicone lottery, if you get a good chip, you will be able to overclock much, bad chip - low overclocks. If you are going for very high overclocks and actually raising the voltage, you want a non reference design being able to handle the extra power, and having very good cooling.

Edit: Looking at the picture, i can see at least one front intake fan - at least i think so. If you can feel a good amount of air getting pushed to the graphics card you currently have, you might be better off with something like asus directcu2 or msi twinfrozr

Mbiggs23 · Jun 5, 2014

FunkyFeatures :

From the pictures you sent, it looks a little dusty so you might wanna clean it for dust sometime soon

, also can you tell me if you have a front or bottom intake? If you have 0 or only 1 120/140, you might wanna go for the reference 780ti.

For overclocking - It is not always that a non reference is better for overclocking. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isnt. It is simply the silicone lottery, if you get a good chip, you will be able to overclock much, bad chip - low overclocks. If you are going for very high overclocks and actually raising the voltage, you want a non reference design being able to handle the extra power, and having very good cooling.

Edit: Looking at the picture, i can see at least one front intake fan - at least i think so. If you can feel a good amount of air getting pushed to the graphics card you currently have, you might be better off with something like asus directcu2 or msi twinfrozr

Yes, there is one intake fan on the front! and I usually don't have the side case on, does that help with heat at all?

FunkyFeatures · Jun 5, 2014

If you usually dont have side panel on, you can get away with having non-reference even though you only have 1 fan. I recommend you Asus directCU II or MSI Twinfrozr - whatever you think is the best. I really like these two companies, and i haven't heard of any problems with them on this particular gpu.

Mbiggs23 · Jun 5, 2014

FunkyFeatures :

All right, I'll check em out! Thanks man, I appreciate the help

FunkyFeatures · Jun 5, 2014

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